God is a creator. Inherent to his creation is design -- and inherent to his design is something that teaches something relevant to our own lives and our relationship with God.

It would be tempting to sidetrack into discussing the fact that we were created in God's image (Gen. 1:26-27) and our being created in his image is that we, too, are creators, designers. But I'll not do that here.

God's very first revelation of himself in Scripture is that he is a creator. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Gen. 1:1). In other words, God is the creator of all that we see. Beyond this, wherever we look in God's physical creation we see the imprint of intelligent, intricate, inspiring design -- design that should evoke from us awe, praise and worship.

Regarding God being a creator and designer, in his book "Creation -- Remarkable Evidence of God's Design," Grant R. Jeffrey says that for more than a century scientists throughout the world have, for the most part, rejected the idea of a supernatural creator. This is because of the "spin" that the scientific community has put on its discoveries. However, in recent years a significant shift has taken place. An estimated forty percent of physicists, biologists, and mathematicians now acknowledge a belief in a God who is personally involved in our earthly affairs. What has brought about this shift within the scientific community is that recent "remarkable scientific discoveries in the areas of astronomy, the nature of the atom, the intricate genetic information encoded within DNA that controls all biological organisms, and discoveries in biological science have combined to transform the world of science." (See Creation, pp. 20-21.)

That God is personally involved with his creation should come as no surprise to us who know the Lord, for the Bible declares that God upholds all things by the word of his power (Heb. 1:3), implying God's personal and powerful involvement.

However, God is not just the creator and designer of the physical realm. He has also designed history. God tells us that he is God, that there is none else, and that he declares the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:9-10). The reason God can declare the end from the beginning is because he has planned the end from the beginning. Nothing catches God off-guard or by surprise. We should find comfort in this and it should inspire trust.

Beyond this, we are told that God works all things according to his own will ((Dan. 11:16, Eph. 1:11), meaning he is also intimately and personally involved in the working out of his design (plan) in history.

Especially important to those of us who know the Lord is the revelation that God works all things together for good to them that love him (Rom. 1:28). God is especially concerned that we who know and love him fit into both his overall design for history and his personal design for us individually. In other words, God has a will, purpose and plan for our lives, but it will only be fulfilled in the lives of those who love him.

In the physical realm, God's design teaches us something, and that is that inherent to his design is order. In other words, there are "laws" that govern God's creation and design. For instance, without the law of gravity, there would be no design, only chaos.

Just as it is in God's design in the physical creation, so it is also true that for our lives to conform to God's intended design (as it relates to our place in history and his intended design of our own lives personally) there must be order, meaning there are laws to which we must conform.

I'm not talking about salvation by works. Our first act of conforming to God's way (our first act of obedience) is to accept the testimony of God's concerning Jesus Christ, God's Son, who died for our sins and rose again from the dead. It is calling upon his name that we are saved, made righteous, and brought into a right relationship with God (Rom. 10:8-13).

However, God expects our relationship with Him to impact our lives. He is our God. We are accountable to him. No longer are we to live our lives independently of him. If we do, we will never fully know the blessing of God's fitting into God's overall design and plan, nor of knowing his design and plan for our lives.